Duane Louis Swierczynski (born February 22, 1972) is an American

crime writer Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

known for his work in non-fiction books, novels and comic books.

Early life

Duane Swierczynski was born and raised in Frankford, a neighborhood in lower

Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Great Northeast, and known colloquially as simply "the Northeast", is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of betw ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. After leaving in the late 1990s and making several stops elsewhere, he moved to another neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia from 2002 until 2016. He currently resides with his family in the Los Angeles area.An interview with Rhawnhurst graphic novelist Duane Swierczynski
, NEastPhilly.com, May 6, 2009.Technically Not Tech: Graphic novelist Duane Swierczynski
TechnicallyPhilly.com, April 6, 2009. Swierczynski's surname loosely translates as "dweller near a spruce tree." He and his brother Gregg were named after the

Allman Brothers Allman may refer to: Music *The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Greg ...

Career

Swierczynski has written six

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

books, including ''This Here's A Stick-Up: The Big Bad Book Of American Bank Robbery'' (Alpha, 2002) and ''The Big Book O’ Beer'' (Quirk, 2004). He has worked as an editor at ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries; it is the bestselling men's magazine on American newsstands. Started as a men's health magazin ...

'' and '' Details'' as well as Philadelphia magazines including the ''

Philadelphia City Paper ''Philadelphia City Paper'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The independently owned paper was free and published every Thursday in print and daily online at citypaper.net. Staff reporters focused on labor issues ...

'', which he left in February 2008. ''Secret Dead Men'', Swierczynski's

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

debut, was published in 2005 by PointBlank. He has since written nine further novels. His fiction draws heavily on crime noir themes, making frequent use of femmes fatale. In 2008, Swierczynski signed an exclusive deal with

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, where he penned ''

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabbi, Marc S ...

Annual'' #1, a ''

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher ma ...

'' one-shot ("Force of Nature"), and the second volume of ''

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

'', which lasted 24 issues. He also assumed writing duties on ''The Immortal Iron Fist'' from issue #18 until the title's cancellation. His other planned projects with Marvel included a revival of ''

Werewolf By Night The Werewolf by Night (also known as the Werewolf) is the name of two Werewolf, werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, first appeared in ''Marvel Spotlig ...

'', a story starring

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, and contributing to the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

-related event ''

Messiah War "Messiah War" is a crossover storyline running through the issues of ''Cable'' and ''X-Force'' cover-dated May– July 2009 and a one-shot, ''X-Force/Cable: Messiah War'', published by Marvel Comics. Writer Craig Kyle described it as the follow- ...

''. He later wrote the 2012 rebooted Bloodshot series from

Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was ...

and the

Black Hood The Black Hood is the name of several fictional characters (Matthew/Mateo Burland, Thomas "Kip" Burland, and Gregory Hettinger) created by Archie Comics, MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comi ...

series from

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...

beginning in 2015.

Lion's Gate Entertainment Starz Entertainment Corp, formerly known officially as Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation and commonly as Lions Gate and/or Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Founded by ...

picked up Swierczynski's novel ''Severance Package'' for film treatment and hired

Brett Simon Brett Simon (born November 28, 1973, in Palo Alto, California) is an American commercial, music video and film director. Career Simon graduated from Princeton University ''summa cum laude'' in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative ...

to direct the film and co-write the script with Swierczynski. Swierczynski is known for using a variety of social media tools, including

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and

Blogspot Blogger is an American online content management system founded in 1999 that enables its users to write blogs with time-stamped entries. Pyra Labs developed it before being acquired by Google in 2003. Google hosts the blogs, which can be acc ...

. In September 2011, DC Comics relaunched ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

'' with issue #1 as part of their

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

publishing initiative. Swierczynski replaced

Marc Andreyko Marc Andreyko (born June 20, 1970) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter, best known for the true crime series ''Torso'' he co-wrote with Brian Michael Bendis and for co-creating the character Kate Spencer for DC Comics. Career Mar ...

as the writer, with Jesus Saiz handling the art.

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

and

Poison Ivy Poison ivy is a type of allergenic plant in the genus '' Toxicodendron'' native to Asia and North America. Formerly considered a single species, '' Toxicodendron radicans'', poison ivies are now generally treated as a complex of three separate s ...

will later be joining the team.

Personal life

Duane Swierczynski is married and has two children. His first-born son (born March 30, 2002), Parker, is named in honor of the

Richard Stark Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer with more than one hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray int ...

character as well as

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

's secret identity, Peter Parker. He also has a daughter (born July 15, 2003), Evelyn, or Evie for short. Evie passed from leukemia in November 2018.

Works

Non-fiction

* ''This Here's A Stick-Up: The Big Bad Book Of American Bank Robbery'' (Alpha, 2002) * ''The Big Book O’ Beer'' (Quirk, 2004) * ''The Encyclopedia of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, 1950 to Present'' * ''The Perfect Drink for Every Occasion'' (Quirk) * ''The Spy's Guide: Office Espionage'' (Quirk) * ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Frauds, Scams, and Cons'' (Alpha)

Fiction

* ''Secret Dead Men'' (PointBlank, 2005) * ''The Wheelman'' (St. Martin's Press, 2005) * ''Damn Near Dead: An Anthology of Geezer Noir'' (Busted Flush Press, editor, 2006) * ''The Blonde'' (St. Martin's Press, 2006) * ''Severance Package'' (St. Martin's Press, 2008) * ''Murder at Wayne Manor: An Interactive Batman Mystery'' (Quirk, 2008) * ''

Expiration Date An expiration date or expiry date is a previously determined date after which something should no longer be used, either by operation of law or by exceeding the anticipated shelf life for perishable goods. Expiration dates are applied to some f ...

'' (Minotaur Books, 2010) (Winner of the 2011 Anthony award for Best Paperback Original) * ''Canary'' (Mulholland Books, 2015) * ''Revolver'' (Mulholland Books, 2016) * ''The House Husband'' (with James Patterson, BookShots, 2017)

Charlie Hardie Trilogy

* ''Fun and Games'' (Mulholland Books, 2011) * ''Hell and Gone'' (Mulholland Books, 2011) * ''Point and Shoot'' (Mulholland Books, 2013)

Comics

* ''

: Annual #1'' (

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

, 2007) * ''

: Force Of Nature'' (Marvel, 2008) * ''

'' #1–25 (Marvel, 2008–2010) * ''

The Immortal Iron Fist ''The Immortal Iron Fist'' was a Comic book, comic book series published by Marvel Comics and starring the superhero Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist. Publication history The series was written jointly by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction from issues ...

'' #17–27 (with

Travel Foreman Travel Foreman is an American comic book artist. Biography Travel Foreman gained attention with his work on Com.x’s '' Cla$$war'', where he replaced original series artist Trevor Hairsine.Iron Fist: The Death Queen of California'' (Marvel, 2008) * ''

: Frank Castle'' #66–70, #75 (Marvel, 2009) * '' Dead of Night: Werewolf by Night'' #1-4 (Marvel, 2009) * ''

: The Times and Life of Lucas Bishop'' #1–3 (Marvel, 2009) * ''

Immortal Weapons The Immortal Weapons are fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are each a champion of one of the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven in the Marvel Universe. The Immortal Weapons first appear in ''The I ...

'' #1-5 (Marvel, 2009-2010) * ''

Dark X-Men The Dark X-Men are a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They made their debut during the crossover between ''Dark Avengers'' and ''Uncanny X-Men'' written by Matt Fraction, as part of the broader Dark R ...

'' #1-5 (Marvel, 2010) * ''

Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...

: Wade Wilson's War'' #1-4 (Marvel, 2010) * '' X-Men: Hope'' #1 (Marvel, 2010) * ''X-Men Origins:

'' #1 (Marvel, 2010) * '' X-Men: Curse of the Mutants —

Blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

'' #1 (Marvel, 2010) * '' Black Widow'' #6-8 (Marvel, 2010) * '' Widowmaker'' #2, #4 (Marvel, 2010-2011) * ''

'' #1-17, ongoing series, (DC, 2011-2013) * ''

Infestation 2 ''Infestation 2'' (stylized in some solicitations as ''Infes2ation'') is a comic book crossover that was published by IDW Publishing from January to April 2012. Serving as the sequel to ''Infestation'', it consisted of two book-end one-shots, and ...

'' #1-2 (IDW, 2012) * ''

30 Days of Night ''30 Days of Night'' is a three-issue vampire comic book miniseries written by Steve Niles, illustrated by Ben Templesmith, and published by American company IDW Publishing in 2002. All three parties co-own the property. The series takes place ...

'' #1 (IDW, 2012) * '' Bloodshot'' #1-13, ongoing series, (Valiant Comics, 2012-2013) * ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'' #1-13, ongoing series, (IDW, 2012-2013) * '' X'' #0-24, ongoing series, (Dark Horse, 2013-2015) * ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of the British weekly anthology Comic book, comic ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977). He is the magazi ...

'' #1-30, ongoing series, (IDW, 2012-2015) * ''Two Past Midnight'' #1-3 (Dark Horse, 2013) * '' Harbinger Wars'' #1-4 (with Joshua Dysart, limited series, Valiant Comics, 2013) * ''

vs.

X-Force X-Force is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 (April 1991 ...

'' #1-4 (Marvel, 2014) * ''

The Black Hood The Black Hood is the name of several fictional characters (Matthew/Mateo Burland, Thomas "Kip" Burland, and Gregory Hettinger) created by Archie Comics, MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comi ...

'' vol. 4 #1-11, ongoing series, (Archie Comics, 2015-2016) * ''

'' vol. 5 #1-5 (Archie Comics, 2016-2017) * '' Star Wars: Rogue One: Cassian &

K-2SO K-2SO (also referred to as K2 or Kaytoo-Esso) is a droid (Star Wars), droid character in the Star Wars, ''Star Wars'' franchise, first appearing in the film ''Rogue One'' (2016), and reappearing in the second season of Andor (TV series), ''Andor ...

'' #1 (Marvel, 2017)

Conferences

*
NoirCon:
2007-2022'' (

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swierczynski, Duane 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American comics writers Living people 1972 births American people of Polish descent Anthony Award winners Writers from Philadelphia 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Pennsylvania